Hollyoaks star Stephanie Waring has opened up about her battle with anorexia as a teenager, which saw her drop to just 4st 7Ibs at her lowest weight. The Cindy Cunningham actress was just 14 when she suffered from the eating disorder, and recalled how she was told by doctors that she would die if she didn't get treatment in hospital. The 41-year-old told New! magazine: "It was bad, really bad. I weight four stone seven pounds. The doctor basically said: 'If you don't go to hospital, you may as well get hit by a bus because you're going to die.'"
Hollyoaks star Stephanie Waring dropped to under 5 stone during her battle with anorexia
The star admitted that she had reached a point where she was eating nothing and exercising three times a day for more than a year. While Stephanie went on to gain weight to get back to a healthier size, the mother-of-two confessed that she will never be completely cured from her illness. She added: "I don't think it ever leaves you, especially because I was so young. I'm 41 now but it's something so ingrained in your psychologically so it's always there in the back of your mind."
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The actress with her Hollyoaks' co-stars
Now a healthy 7st 6Ibs at 5ft2, Stephanie has admitted that for the first time she feels she has control over her body. At the beginning of June, the star revealed that she had given up alcohol for the past three months, and that she felt so much better as a result. Talking to Manchester Evening News, she said: "It was a lifestyle choice to quit and I find I feel so much better. I still go out with my friends and it's nice to be able to drive home. I'm not in my twenties anymore. I look after myself and I've always looked young for my age." The actress - who is mum to daughters Mia, 13, and eight-year-old Lexi Grace - added: "My eldest daughter is 13 and she's nicking all my clothes and I nick hers too."
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Stephanie has been playing Cindy in Hollyoaks since 1996, and has been involved in many hard-hitting storylines, including her character's battle with bipolar, and the death of her husband Dirk.
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